Computer gaming is an enormously popular activity that is enjoyed by a large portion of the population. Children, teenagers, and even adults have all enjoyed video gaming as a pastime, for educational purposes, for training, for exercise, and the like. Computer games may include a wide range of genres such as sporting events and activities, automotive driving and racing, aircraft and spacecraft flight, fantasy themes, updated board games, social games and activities, military-oriented and “first person shooter” games, etc. Various age groups have enjoyed creative and engaging computer gaming activities.
Many computer games incorporate a competitive, multiplayer component into their design. This aspect of the games heightens competition and has led to shared enjoyment of a game by two or more players. While at first the two or more players may have been collocated with a computer game, it is now common that the multiplicity of players is dispersed across a large geographical area. In some cases, the players may be dispersed across multiple time zones around the globe. Nonetheless, because of the immersive nature of the video games, there is a real and vibrant sense of community that can develop among the gamers. Individuals in the community can work on game strategy, contribute to game enhancements, and even develop interpersonal friendships that transcend the gaming experience. The gaming environment has become a way for people and teams of people to have interpersonal interactions with likeminded players. Gamers want to share various aspects of their gaming experiences with each other in order to feel that they are an integral part of the game. As a result, game players can spend a tremendous amount of time involved with these games.
Computer gaming enthusiasts concur that the more immersive the computer game, the greater the degree of satisfaction that can be derived from it. Thus, computer game developers strive to create an immersive experience (in some cases intensely so). Sight, sound, physical gestures, and now various creative controlling schemes all contribute to the sense that the gamer has become an integral part of the game. Thus, the more interactive the interface, the greater and more enjoyable the gaming experience.
Many types of computer interfaces and enhancements exist which can be used to interact with and control a computer game. For example, a screen or multiple screens used by the ubiquitous graphical user interfaces (GUI) may be substituted with a touch screen, thus allowing the user to manipulate the game by touch. This latter adaptation is common with handheld devices. Interfaces allow manipulation of simulated objects and their properties. Tangible user interfaces enable touch and physical feedback (i.e. force feedback) for working in physical environments or their elements. Task-focused interfaces are enhancements that address the “information overload” problem by allowing the user to focus on tasks rather than a multitude of specific elements. Zooming interfaces allow for changes in levels of detail about objects, thus permitting zooming in on specific aspects from sets of elements.
Another interface class uses sensors to collect inputs. For example, an interface may include user voice activation that permits information capture, control, etc. Further, motion recognition is becoming a popular gaming interface. Such activity-interface devices may include a gamepad, paddle, trackball, joystick, a throttle, steering wheels, aircraft type yokes (oriented to aircraft control), pedals (vehicle control), keyboard and mouse, touch screen, motion sensing, and a light gun. Other gesture recognition devices are purpose-oriented, such as pinball controllers, dance pads, balance boards, rhythm game devices (keyboards, guitars, drums, microphones, etc.), buzzers (like those used in game shows), sports equipment (fishing rods, tennis racquets), and the like.